


Furia's Third Biggest Mistake

by hbxplain



Series: More Lives Than One [7]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), More Lives Than One, Original Work
Genre: Against Genasi, Fantasy Racism, Furia Bullies A Barkeep, Furia's POV, Gen, Written By Storm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-09-28 21:50:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20433011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hbxplain/pseuds/hbxplain
Summary: Furia, immediately before the events of the first season.





	Furia's Third Biggest Mistake

**Author's Note:**

> Another reminder: this is for our DnD campaign MLTO, and the full campaign can be found on the wattpad account "stormcause"!

The doe never stood a chance. The arrow ripped through her skin and buried itself into the poor beast’s heart before she could bound away to safety. The legs, just poised to run, collapsed in a heap and the spotted deer fell, the arrow pointing up to the sky above. Downwind, a figure stepped out of the shadows, slinging the bow on her back and approaching the doe. Had the creature still been alive, she would have used her short sword to end the pain. Most hunters would have used a dagger, but Furia had no money to spare.

The doe was just over a year old and this probably would have been her first season away from her mother. That was good; it meant that the innkeeper would pay more for her meat. Furia lifted the beast to her shoulders and began the hike back to the village she was staying at. It was mostly populated with humans, but with a few halfling houses scattered here and there. The buildings were too grand and fancy for her taste but since she wasn’t going to stay here for long, she kept her opinions to herself.

She entered the village by a side gate which wasn’t often used and entered the inn via the back door, keeping out of sight as much as possible. The kitchen’s back door was open but she knocked anyway, standing where she could be easily seen, and waited. The head cook looked her way several times but Furia was kept waiting for a good ten minutes. Inwardly, she fumed at the treatment but her face held the deadpan expression that she had perfected over the past two years. Finally, the deer was taken from her and she was led to the front of the shop to get her pay.

Furia stood still next to the bar, trying not to breathe in the foul smell of the alcohol. This inn, like most of its kind, watered down their liquor before serving it, but it didn’t make the smell any better in Furia’s opinion. It was about midafternoon but already the inn was doing a good trade, the tap room full of laughing and drinking humans. When they came up to get their spirits, many of them ignored her, but some glanced at her, wrinkled their nose and looked away. At their tables, they glanced over their shoulders, nudging and whispering to each other. Furia started tapping her foot against the floorboards.

The innkeeper finally bothered to notice her and fished around in his draw, grabbing a few coins before going and dropping them in her hand as if he was handing her gold nuggets. “Ten coppers,” he grunted.

“The price for a fully grown deer was 20 silvers,” Furia said back, very calm for someone who was being cheated.

“20 silvers for a good deer,” the innkeeper corrected. He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “That deer you’ve brought in had an infection, over half the meat is worthless.”

Furia took a few deep breaths. The doe had had no infection, she knew it and the innkeeper did too. “Be that as it may, its pelt is worth a fair bit. 10 silvers.”

The innkeeper scoffed. “No one buys a deer’s pelt around here. I’m being generous for giving you ten, now get out of here.”

Her hand wrapped tightly around the coins, Furia glowered at the innkeeper’s back before stalking off. She went up the stairs in the corner that lead to the rooms up above. Half of her wanted to throw the coins in the innkeeper’s face but the reasonable half told her that she didn’t have the cash to spare. The room she had been given was a tiny one at the very end and one glance around it told her that she hadn’t kept anything in it.

She left the village before the hour was up.

Night fell quickly and the shadows of the trees drifted across the ground in innumerable fingers. Furia had learnt not to fear them but even after months, she woke in the middle of the night expecting to see his shadow spilling across the ground, hear his voice telling her that there are no monsters. She put a lot of distance between her and the village over the next few days before starting to find another village to stay in. It wasn’t long before a large city appeared on the horizon. 

Furia paused at the edge of the forest, looking at the city though dull eyes. She didn’t normally go into cities but one as large as this had to have a fair number of ‘oddities’. People would probably be less prone to stare at her and cheat her of money because of her heritage. And there would be multiple inns too, and butchers, all looking to get more produce to sell. 

Nodding once, Furia strolled into the city, keeping her head down to blend into the crowds. Her plain leather jacket void of badges, brown pants and tall boots coupled with the bow and quiver of arrows on her back marked her as a freelance ranger looking for work. She wasn’t bothered. She walked for several minutes before spying a small inn down a side street and went inside.

There wasn’t much to see; just a few orcs, halflings, gnomes and dwarves. She went straight to the bar and called the bartender, instantly and bluntly offering her services. Tact and humour wasn’t her strong point. Only her skill in the bow was. The bartender didn’t seem too happy to employ a freelance ranger but Furia kept talking. The door to the inn opened and the bartender turned to speak to one of his workers. Furia took the opportunity to glance at the newcomers. Both elves; one armed with just a staff and the other with a few daggers but he walked with self-confidence. Furia did a double take and resolutely looked away, determined to ignore both of the elves. With any luck, she wouldn’t have to cross paths with him.

She was continuing her conversation with the bartender when the door opened again. A bare glance over her shoulder told her what she needed to know about the newcomer. A Dragonborn, huge, but staring around with wide eyes as if he had never seen such a sight before. The bartender was adamant (and a little worried) that he didn’t have any work for her and so Furia changed tact, badgering him for where she could find work. The door opened a third time. She didn’t even bother to glance over.

That was, until the halfling climbed up on top of a stool and cried for help.

It only took two minutes for Furia to wish that she had chosen a different inn to go to.

It took another three for her to wish she had avoided the city altogether.


End file.
